Green thumb or black?

Most of my attempts to grow plants and flowers have been rather pitiful. The elusive green thumb hides from me on a regular basis. I have barely managed to keep a Philodendron alive all winter long. I am sure it has less to do with me than with Phil. He sees it and says “we need to water that thing”. It doesn’t even have a permanent hanging place in the house. It’s just hanging on a curtain rod and waiting to be moved back outside. Kind of funny, the whole sad ordeal.Every time we add a little water to it the poor thing comes back to life and perks up. I don’t know why it keeps putting its hopes in us!

There is one person in my family who has a green thumb. My youngest son, Caleb, wanted some cactus plants and bamboo plants for Christmas. We bought those for him and so far he has done a great job keeping them alive. He also has some air plants as well.He takes care to water them as needed and gets awfully angry with me if I have sprayed his plants. He has a schedule for the watering and I am not to mess with it.

So what does all this have to do with me and cooking? Yesterday we took the plunge and plunked down some money on plants and one of the Topsy Turvy planters.

I have tomato plants, rosemary, basil, lemon thyme and parsley. I am rather excited to try this method of planting and I can’t wait to see the results. The frost is almost over here in NE Ohio so I am pretty sure it’s safe to begin planting. If there is a frost, we will just cover the planter. If I get real food from this method it means I will be making foods from fresh veggies and herbs from my own garden. That makes me very happy. I hope mine can provide me enough tomatoes to make my own fresh sauce and Caprese salads.

My mouth is watering already. And I think I will use some of the rosemary from the plant I bought to make some more rosemary peasant bread today.

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3 thoughts on “Green thumb or black?”

I too am Italian-American, similar story to yours. I grew up with my mother always gardening but only until the last few years have I really tried it. I tried the Topsy Turvy last year, but it didn’t work. I think my problem was not enough sun, I had it in partial shade. The first time round I think I damaged the roots so be careful and make sure it is in good sunlight.

This year I’m trying a true Italian herb garden – all the basics, mostly in containers. You know enough to whip up some pasta and through some fresh herbs and tomatoes on top! Can’t wait for Summer!

Here is the translation of Elisa’s comment: Hello Michelle, I found your blog reading foodie and I am curious and I went to see you. Congratulations on the blog, I read you love Italian food (unless I misunderstood you with Italian origins), as give you wrong? I’m Italian that I can safely say that our cuisine is among the best, if not the best for quality, tradition and imagination, though I also appreciate good food from other countries. I also have a cooking blog, I’ll be glad to see me go. I wish you a good weekend, see you soon.

I think she is not happy to see herself go, I guess that is what I get with online translations.

Thanks Elisa for stopping by. Yes, I come from Italian heritage. My father was 100% Italian, who’s parents came to the USA in 1923 adn 1929. I will have to come visit your blog. And I agree, we have the best cuisine in the world.

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Welcome!

My name is Michelle and I am an Italian-American. My grandparents came to the USA in the 1920's from Campolieto, a small village outside of Campobasso in the Molise region.

With them they brought the tradition of the Sunday family dinner. I am on a journey to do the same with my growing family now that I am a "nonna".

I am a cooking instructor, foodie and food snob all rolled into one. One of the best praises I often get from class participants is "you should open your own Italian restaurant". I guess it can be a dream of mine but so is visiting Italy in the next few years.

I hope you enjoy your visit here, find a few good recipes and come back for more. Thanks for stopping by.

I can be reached by email or leaving a comment. micie66@yahoo(dot)com .

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